Mistletoe and Wine
by Gene'sGirl13
Summary: A Christmas two part story with Gene and Alex :  Mainly fluff! Will Gene be a Scrooge during the festive season? Rated T for Gene being the Gene Genie.
1. Chapter 1

**The Christmas bug has bitten. Here's a fluffyish story with Gene and Alex :) Got another story on**** the go at the minute, but hit a brick wall with it so decided to give something else a go :) So if you fancy giving that one a read anyway, it's called Fancy a Nightcap... can't beat a bit of shameless advertising ;)  
Hope you enjoy anyway, and please review, they're muchly appreciated :)  
Oh and thanks to theoofoof for checking it over, my grammar is rubbish at the minute!**

One Christmas Eve, Alex Drake walked into Fenchurch East with a smile on her face; for the first time since she'd arrived in the strange world, she was looking forward to it. She didn't know why she was looking forward to it; she knew she was more than likely going to spend the day on her own in her flat watching the television. But, for some unknown reason, she found herself in the Christmas spirit. Snow was falling and there was already a small layer on the roads, and she found she was excited that a proper winter was about to take place. She pushed open the doors to CID with the intention to put everyone else in the Christmas mood – including their lord and master – when the shout came from the man himself mere seconds after her arrival.

He stormed out of his office with a look of thunder on his face – quite obviously aimed at his DI – and arms almost flailing as he expressed his disapproval of her apparent festive mood.

"What the 'ELL 'ave you done t' my bloody office Drake? In fact, what the 'ell 'ave you done to the entire bloody station?"

Alex laughed, she couldn't help herself. "It's Christmas Guv! I'm bringing a bit of spirit into the place, you know; boost morale around the time of year when we shouldn't have to work?" Alex had left Luigi's early the previous evening, claiming she had a headache. But then she'd slipped out around the side of the restaurant, unnoticed by her fellow officers, armed with a Christmas tree and many, many other decorations to secretly put up in CID. She'd even managed to find a few bits of mistletoe and hung them in several places in the station.

"There's mistletoe in my office Drake." He turned in the direction of his office, pointing furiously at the plant hanging from his ceiling. "Mistletoe! I am NOT a poncey twat 'oo needs a stupid bloody kissin' plant in my friggin' office! What the 'ell do you think you're playin' at?"

Alex opened her mouth to answer his question but was interrupted by Ray, Chris and Shaz opening the doors behind them. Shaz grinned as she saw what Alex had done with the place whilst Chris and Ray stared wide eyed, knowing how big a mistake their DI had made. "Aww Ma'am it looks great! You went ahead with it then? 'as it gone down okay?" Alex stood shaking her head, trying to get the young WPC to shut up but Shaz seemed oblivious. "It was a fab idea Ma'am; it's always nice to be in the Christmas spirit!"

Gene turned to face her, fury shining from his blue eyes. "You mean t' say, Granger, that you knew about this 'n let 'er go ahead 'n do it?" Shaz froze, not knowing what to say. She was unnerved by the anger on her Guv's face and sighed with relief when Alex spoke up.

"Oh Gene, leave her alone. This was my doing; I just asked her if she thought it was a good idea. We both agreed that it'd be good to make CID look brighter at this time of year!"

"Drake, this is a police station, not Santa's bleedin' Grotto! Take it all down, NOW!"

He turned on his heel, storming back to his office when he heard her speak again.

"No." He stopped and turned back around, staring at her. She was stood with her arms crossed over her chest; a look of pure anger on her face. Ray, Chris and Shaz scuttled away to their desks, Ray muttering under his breath but just loudly enough for everyone to hear, "she's really gone 'n fuckin' done it now."

"What did you just say t' me Drake?"

"I said no, Gene."

He walked back towards her, so near she could feel his breath on her cheek. "That's Guv to you, DI Drake. Are you disobeyin' a direct order from your senior officer?" He was practically growling as he spoke, anger seeping out through his words.

"So what if I am? What are you going to do? Suspend me for putting up a few Christmas decorations?" She paused, no longer shouting but prodding him in his chest. "You really are pathetic Gene. It's bad enough working this time of year anyway without having to work with a miserable, bastard Scrooge like you!" CID was silent, apart from the heavy breathing of the two furious superior officers. Alex feared she'd gone too far this time, expecting the worst from her Guv, but she still stood tall. What she didn't expect was to see the look of defeat on his face. He stepped away from her, rubbing a hand over his face and then brushed past her, leaving a silent CID in his wake. She turned around; a spurt of guilt ran through her as she called his name as though asking him to come back. He didn't. She sighed, regretting everything she'd just said. The look on his face almost killed her, the defeat in his eyes, the look of… hurt? She walked towards her desk avoiding the stare from Shaz, kicked the table leg and sat down, pulling some paperwork towards her to try and distract her from what had gone on.

"'e'll be back soon Ma'am." called Ray, "'e's probably gone fer a walk t' stop 'imself from kickin' yer 'ead in!" Alex ignored him, deciding it was for the best. Shaz glared at him and shook her head, telling him to shut up but he just shrugged, unable to understand why the argument had affected her so much.

Three hours later, Gene still hadn't returned to the office. Alex had been sat looking at the same piece of work for the past two hours, unable to concentrate on it and constantly checking the clock. Eventually, she threw her pen down on the desk, verbally growled out her frustrations and held her head in her hands. CID had never been quieter; the team trying to keep their heads down as they noticed their superior officer getting more and more irate, waiting for their leader to return. Shaz finally took the chance to speak to her Ma'am, carefully approaching her table whilst aware that one wrong move could make her completely blow her top and muttered quietly to her.

"Why don't you go and 'ave a look for 'im Ma'am? It's not doin' you any good sat 'ere is it… I'm sure 'e'll 'ave forgiven you by now." Shaz gave her a small smile and nodded towards the doors, pushing her to go find him. Alex gave a grim smile, picked up her jacket and followed Shaz' advice.

Chris looked over at Shaz once he knew for sure Alex was out of hearing range. "What's 'er problem? She should know by now the Guv 'ates Christmas!"

Shaz rolled her eyes; men could be so stupid at times! "You really are blind aren't you? Anyway, can't you blame the Ma'am for wantin' t' make things more Christmassy? It's depressin' workin' this time of year."

"Well yeah I know that Shaz, but why was she so stressed after the argument with the Guv? They always argue, I'd 'ave thought she'd be used to it by now?

"You'll work it out some day Chris." She turned back to her typing, leaving Chris to confuse himself over their conversation.

Alex stepped back out into CID and into the cold fresh air. The snow was falling thick and fast now and was getting colder and colder. She sighed with relief seeing that the Quattro was still parked outside the station. "He can't have gotten that far then." She muttered, pulling her coat tighter around her. She decided the first logical place to check was Luigi's. She made her way across the road, managing not to slip over in her heels and down into the warmth of the restaurant. Luigi was stood in his usual place behind the bar, and beamed when his favourite customer come through the door. "Ah Signorina Drake! A lovely surprise! A bit early for you though yes?"

Alex smiled; he was always such a happy man. "I'm just looking for Gene, Luigi; you haven't seen him have you?"

Luigi frowned, giving Alex a grim smile. "Ah yes, Signor Hunt came here earlier. He looked very angry; he had whiskey and left quickly. You two have been fighting again, yes?"

"I'm afraid so Luigi. Do you have any idea where he went? He's been out a while."

Luigi shook his head, his frown deepened. "No Signorina, he left without speaking. You go find him? Tell him you love him like I know you do and make things better!"

Alex's eyes widened, frantically shaking her head in disagreement. "No, Luigi, he's my boss. A friend. I'll go have a look for him." She turned around, heading back out of the restaurant with Luigi calling after.

"You no fool me Signorina!"

She almost ran up the stairs, trying to escape Luigi's comments. She took a deep breath when she reached the top and concentrated on finding him, on apologising. She headed in the direction of the nearby park, hoping that he'd gone to hide in there. It took about half an hour, but eventually she spotted him sat on one of the benches near the frozen lake. The snow was at least a couple of inches thick now and there were a lot of people playing in it in the park. She made her way over to where Gene was sat and quietly sat next him. Surprisingly, it was Gene that broke the silence. "You're friggin' mental t' be walkin' around in those bloody shoes in this weather Bolly."

Alex smiled, thankful he was still able to make a joke. "Yeah, well, if someone hadn't done a magical disappearing act then I wouldn't have had to come out in it."

"'ow long did it take yer t' find me?"

Alex shrugged, leaning forward onto her knees to match Gene's position. "About an hour. This was the second place I checked." She looked at him, cheekily smiling at him. "First place I checked was Luigi's of course."

Even Gene managed to smile. "Yer know me too well Bolls. Anyway, yer gonna try yer psychological bollocks on me now then?"

"It's psycholo-" She automatically started to correct him, but then stopped and stared, surprised he'd managed to get it right for a change. "You do actually know the difference don't you Gene?"

"Course I do yer dozy tart, I just like windin' yer up." He leaned back against the bench, rubbing his hands together. Alex looked at them, noticing how cold he actually was.

"Gene, you're freezing, why are you still sat here?"

He shrugged, "'s just nice t' 'ave a bit of fresh air, t' get away from that place for a bit."

"Your hands are blue, it's not healthy, you really need to-"

"Stop tryin' t' mother me Alex. I've already 'ad one of them, don't need another one."

"Sorry, yes, you're right. I'll shut up." He stretched his legs out in front of him, shoving his hands in his pockets for warmth.

"Makes a change Bolly. Anyway, I'm surprised you 'aven't asked why yet, but you've probably figured out that yes, I do 'ate Christmas."

"Really? You didn't make that obvious at the station." She grinned when she saw him smirk. "I'm not going to ask why, I'm sure you'll tell me eventually. Are you doing anything for Christmas anyway Gene? Going back up to Manchester?"

"Manchester? 'ell no, there's nothin' t' go back to up there. What're you doin'? Got some poncey posh guy t' share it with?"

She rolled her eyes again. "No Gene, contrary to want you think, I'm not sleeping with a different man every week you know." She sat back against the bench, crossing her arms and shivering in the cold. Gene looked at her, shaking his head.

"'ope someone's bought you a new coat fer Christmas Bolly."

"Doubt it, haven't got anyone to get me one."

"I'm sure there'll be some rich twat around t' buy yer one?" He moved away from her slightly after seeing the look on her face. "Alright Bolls, no need fer the death glare. I know you don't 'ave a different bloke every week." He watched as she shivered again and stood up, holding his hand out to her. "C'mon, get up, I ain't gonna let you freeze out 'ere."

"Now whose mothering who?" She took his hand though; he tugged her up from the bench and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach from his touch as they headed off back in the direction of the station, Gene keeping her close to share body heat. "You can actually be quite sweet when you want to be, can't you Gene?"

He looked down at her, frowning slightly. "Sweet? Gene Hunt is not sweet. I just don't want yer gettin' cold."

"But you're allowed to sit in the cold and freeze for hours on end?"

"I can do what I want Bolly. Don't want you freezin' yer tits off, wouldn't 'ave anythin' nice t' look at then. Well, other than your arse."

Alex hit him in the chest with a fair bit of force; laughing and watching him cringe and rub where she hit him. "Cheeky bastard."

"Told yer I wasn't sweet." They walked the rest of the way back to the station in peace, Gene only having to catch Alex once or twice when she fell in her heels, mumbling under his breath that he hoped someone had bought her some decent shoes as well as a coat. She stopped him outside the station, asking the question she'd contemplated asking for a while.

"Are you actually doing anything on Christmas Day Gene?"

He shook his head nonchalantly. "Probably get pissed with a bottle of whiskey in front of the tele."

"Well, if I'm only doing the same thing…" She stopped under his scrutiny, his blue eyes staring into her hazel. She forced herself to concentrate. "Why don't you come to mine for a bit? I can cook us a dinner, turkey and all the trimmings if you're lucky, and then get pissed together? Beats being alone." She shrugged as though it didn't matter to her, when really her heart was beating ten to a dozen.

"Do yer 'ave any decent whiskey?"

"Well, no, but I can get you some in?"

"Sounds like a deal. But let me bring the puddin', birds are shit at choosin' puddin'."

"So that's a yes then?" She tried hard to stop herself grinning.

"It's a yes DI Bolly-Kecks. Yer'd better be a bloody good cook though!" He walked up the steps smiling to himself after hearing her laugh.

"You really are a cheeky bastard Gene Hunt!" She smiled as he turned around and winked at her. Christmas might well just have gotten even better than she thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok... so i know Christmas was weeks ago... but i couldn't leave this unfinished. Sorry for the lateness but blame working in retail... it really does suck.  
So here's the second chapter to Mistletoe and Wine! I hope you enjoy it, and i hope you all had a fantastic Christmas.  
Seen as i forgot to disclaim before too, i don't own Ashes to Ashes or anything within it. Sadly, Gene Hunt was not under our tree this year even though i put him on my list :'(  
Thanks to theoofoof for checking it over! Any unseen mistakes, blame her :) Oh and thanks for the reviews last time, they make me grin like a loon :D**

Alex walked into her flat with a bottle of wine in hand and a smile on her face. It was Christmas Day and she and Gene had been preparing dinner for the past hour. She kicked off her shoes and sat down on the couch, leaning back and closing her eyes for a few seconds until she heard a rather distressed call from Gene from the kitchen.

"Bolly! Get your arse in 'ere now!"

She sighed, opened her eyes and called back through. "What is it Gene?"

"Just come 'ere! The potatoes are overflowin'!"

"What? Oh just turn the gas down Gene, they'll simmer down then."

She closed her eyes again, setting her feet up on the table in front of her. She felt happier that she had company today; she knew it would distract her from getting upset about Molly. And Gene definitely was very distracting indeed! He was in casual clothing; those jeans certainly did something for him.

"Bolly! It's not bloody workin'! They're practically explodin'!

She groaned, removing her feet from the table and throwing the bottle of wine beside her on the couch before getting up and going to the kitchen. "I'm sure it's not that bad Gene, you're probably just-" She cut off at the sight of her cooker, there was water everywhere. "What on earth have you done Gene?" She half yelled as she ran towards him and the cooker, turning everything off and attempting to rescue the rapidly escaping hot water. "I only left you alone for five minutes! How did you manage to get it to this point?"

"I did warn yer not t' leave me Bolls. I ain't good with cookin'!"

"Even you should be able to manage a few potatoes Gene. I mean, all you had to do was watch them – ouch! Fucking hell, that's hot!" She managed to catch two fingers in the water whilst attempting to dry everything off.

"I think you would be too if yer'd been boilin' for 'alf an 'our Bolly." He watched as she shook her hand about, sticking her fingers in her mouth to try to ease the burning sensation. He shook his head, mumbling under his breath. "Come 'ere you idiot, yer need t' get it under cold water." He took hold of her arm, tugging her towards the sink and running the cold tap. "'old that there fer a few minutes, it'll take off the sting."

"I'm not that stupid Gene; I do know how to treat a burn you know."

"Suckin' on yer fingers your way of doin' it Bolly? You could 'ave at least let me 'ave a go." He smirked at her, making her scowl and throw the towel in her free hand at his face.

"You're an irritating man Gene Hunt." She grimaced as the water got colder and colder and attempted to pull her hand out of harm's way, but failed as Gene grabbed hold of it and forced it back under the tap.

"Yer wouldn't 'ave me any other way. 'n keep yer 'and there woman!"

Alex pouted, putting on a sulky expression. "It hurts Gene."

"I know it does yer silly mare, but it'll 'urt more if yer don't cool it down." They stood in silence for another couple of minutes, every now and then Alex tried to pull her hand away but Gene stopped her. "Yer worse than a kid Bolly."

Alex just glared at him. "You try sticking your hand under freezing cold water for five minutes Gene, see how you like it!"

"'ow many times d'yer reckon I've tried it Bolls? I know it ain't comfortable, but it does the trick." He turned off the tap and pulled her hand away. "Yer've probably noticed I'm covered in scars Alex, most of 'em 'ave come from workin' in the force but this little bugger 'ere…" He pointed at this arm, showing her a small, circular mark. "It came from me old man. Took a lighter t' me arm. I were only 8. Me Mam spent ages tryna make it better."

Alex was speechless, she knew he'd had a rough childhood but she didn't truly expect this. "Gene, I didn't…"

"'ow would yer know? I don't like talkin' about it. Anyway, you got a first aid kit in 'ere?" She nodded and pointed up to the cupboard above the sink, still unable to take in the abuse a young Gene Hunt had to put up with. "Speechless Bolly? Now that really is shockin'. Forget I said 'owt, no use blubberin' over spilt milk 'ey?" He walked back over to her, first aid kit in hand. "Sit down will yer? Yer makin' the place look a mess." He gave a small smile as she did as he told.

"Why didn't you tell me? Surely all these demons in your past are too much for one person to cope with?"

"Coped with it all me life Bolls, don't see the point in makin' everyone else miserable an'all." He opened the first aid box and took out some cooling gel, unscrewing the lid and taking hold of her hand once more.

"Surely talking about it would help though?"

"Only fer you psychology lovers."

"That's twice in two days you've got that right Gene, I'm impressed. Was it your father that caused the hate for Christmas?" She watched in awe as he rubbed the gel into her fingers, it was incredible how such a big, strong man could be so gentle. She found it hard to not be distracted by those long fingers.

"Nah, not really." He concentrated on Alex's fingers; he knew if he looked up at her it'd be his undoing. "It was about 1950, I was just about 15. Me Mam 'ad been ill fer a while. She refused t' go t' the docs though, knew me Dad wouldn't like it. We managed t' get someone out to 'er once when 'e was out… but we were too late. It was cancer that took 'er in the end. Christmas Eve she died."

"Oh Gene…" She gripped his hands, trying not to wince at the soreness of her fingers. "No wonder you hate Christmas."

He nodded, letting go of her hands and screwing the lid back on the gel. "It's all in the past Bolls, can't do anythin' about it now. Anyway, 'ow're yer fingers? Stingin' gone off?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Sore but I'll live. The Gene Genie comes to my rescue again."

He couldn't stop the smile creeping across his face at those words. "Yer are good at gettin' yerself in t' trouble. Is Bolly-Kecks gonna come t' my rescue 'n get me some dinner then?"

"I suppose so." She forced herself out of the chair, using Gene's leg as leverage. "Thanks for sorting my hand out."

He watched as she began work on their dinner again, turning on the gas and moving a few pots and pans around and generally looking quite domestic. "Anytime Bolls, someone needs t' look after yer cos' yer clearly don't do it yerself."

She turned around, frowning with her hands on her hips. "And what do you mean by that Gene?"

"Well, look at yer, there ain't any meat on yer! When was the last time yer 'ad a proper cooked meal?"

She shrugged, contemplating her answer. "I don't know, about a week ago?"

"'n that proves me point. Get cookin' woman, yer need some food in yer. Men like a bit o' meat on their women." He paused, frowning at the insinuation behind his words and decided to move on quickly before she picked up on it. "Anythin' I can do to 'elp anyway?"

"Peel some carrots if you like? Don't worry, you're not going anywhere near my cooker. I'd quite like to have my flat in one piece at the end of the day."

"That, Bolly, was delicious."

"Thank you. But seen as you forgot to get the pudding, you can do the washing up!"

Gene nodded, getting up from the table and taking away their plates. "Sounds fair Bolls, but not right now. Need to sit 'n put me feet up!" He wandered through to the kitchen and deposited the plates on the kitchen top. He turned the light out and returned to the front room, sitting himself down on the far end of the sofa. "You comin' Bolls? Bring the wine 'n stuff will yer?"

She did as she was told, picking up the wine and glasses and making her way over to him. She put it all down on the table and sat down on the sofa. Usually she'd sit at the opposite end, facing him so they could talk but today she felt comfortable enough to sit with him. She sat next to him, curling her feet under herself and surprising him by leaning against him. He looked down at her; confused.

"You drunk Bolls?"

She frowned, "No, of course not. I can move if you don't want me sat here…?" She shuffled on the sofa slightly, feeling awkward but he stopped her by wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Stay there silly. Course I want yer 'ere." He pulled her in tighter as she placed her head on his chest, inhaling in his scent and closing her eyes as it clouded her. "Thanks fer askin' me round Bolly."

"My pleasure." She wrapped her other warm around his waist, tucking her head under his chin. "Not all Christmases have to be bad you know Gene, maybe it's time to start making some new, happy memories during the festive season."

"Startin' with this one?"

He felt her smile into his neck, her breath brushing across his throat. "Yes, starting with this one." She sat up suddenly. "I forgot about your present!" She got up off the couch and ran through her bedroom. He heard her rummaging about and cursing under her breath.

"Present? Yer didn't 'ave t' get me anythin' Bolls."

She wandered back through to the front room with a bottle of whiskey in one hand and a small wrapped parcel in the other. "Of course I did! It's Christmas, it's not much and you're a really hard man to buy for Mr Hunt." She sat back down next to him and handed over the gifts with a small smile on her face.

"Good choice in whiskey Bolly, knew yer 'ad it in yer." He placed the bottle on the floor beside him and picked up the other present, opening it with curiosity. "It'd better not be anythin' poncey Drake." He unwrapped it, finding a neatly folded blue tie. He looked up at her, eyebrows burrowed. "A tie? C'mon, that's a tad poncey!"

She rolled her eyes. "Remind me never to buy you anything again Gene. The tie matches the colour of your eyes; it just made me think of you." She paused, trying to judge his reaction but he was as straight faced as ever. "Anyway, get over the ponceyness and dig a little deeper."

He did as he was told, picking up the tie and unfolding it until something fell out and onto his lap. He looked down, picked them up and stared at them, unsure what to say.

Alex looked at him; she couldn't work out what he was thinking and didn't know what to say herself. "Um… Gene? Are they ok?" Still, he said nothing, his jaw set. "Look, if you don't want them then I can always sell them on or whatever…" She cursed herself, thinking she'd got it wrong.

He finally looked up at her, his mouth turned up at the corners. "Do yer really think I'm gonna let yer take these away from me? Do yer 'ave any idea 'ow 'ard these are t' get 'old of Alex?"

"Um, no?" She looked at him, confusion etched across her face.

"Yer've got me two tickets t' the biggest football game o' the year yer dozy mare! They're impossible to get 'old of! I tried fer bloody ages! 'ow the 'ell did yer get these? Sell a kidney?"

All she could do was laugh, she didn't realise how important these tickets really were. "I don't know? Just asked someone who owed me a favour if he knew what you'd like… he said he could pull some strings about the football and sent me to guy who could help me out. Figured you wouldn't mind seeing them play Man United… and I thought I'd find out what this whole love of the Blues was about!"

He couldn't believe she had no idea how important these tickets were. "You really 'ad no idea did yer?"

She shrugged, grinning at how much he looked like a child on Christmas morning. "Not a clue. I genuinely just thought it'd be nice for us to do something together… away from CID. Even if it means I have to sit with a bunch of rowdy men. Actually, it'd just be like any other day!"

"Yer know what? I bloody love you!" He lunged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around her. She laughed at the force of her DCI as he threw himself at her, returning the hug and rubbing his back. He gave her a final squeeze and sat back, taking hold of her face with both hands and gave her a big kiss on her forehead. "Be back in a minute." He smiled into her eyes and got up before she could even say a word and left the flat, leaving the door slightly ajar so he could let himself back in.

Alex sat back on the coach, unable to wipe the smile from her face. She had never seen him smile so much, so genuinely happy and it felt good for her to be the one to make him that way. She picked up her wine glass and took a sip, thinking back to the childlike grin on his face. It made him look younger, took away the daily stress of being a policeman from his face. She thought back to him telling her he loved her… but she knew she shouldn't get her hopes up, he probably said it under all the excitement without thinking. She couldn't help but wonder where he had ran off to though, but her worries were cut short when the man in question appeared back in her doorway.

"Sorry 'bout that." He said, closing the door behind him. "Remembered I'd left somethin' in the Quattro 'n figured it was a good time t' go 'n get it." He brought with him a large brown paper bag, clearly holding something in it. "Good job I thought t' get yer a present eh? Nowt compared t' what yer got me though really. 'ere." He handed her the bag, noticing the look of surprise on her face. "Gene 'unt can do presents when 'e wants t' yer know."

She looked back up at him, realising she must have looked quite shocked. "Oh I know, sorry, just from what you said about hating Christmas I thought you wouldn't have bothered."

"'atin' Christmas doesn't mean I 'ate everyone Alex. Now are yer gonna look at it or what? Sorry it isn't wrapped, I may do presents but I don't do wrappin'!"

"It's fine." She looked in the bag and brought out a long, grey, double breasted coat. She knew straight away why he'd bought her it, they were discussing only yesterday how she didn't own a warm winter coat. She stood up, putting the coat on and started to fasten the buttons only to hiss at the pain from the burns on her fingers. Gene heard and moved towards, silently fastening the coat up for her and stepping back.

"Yer like it then?"

"I love it Gene, thank you. When did you get this though? We only talked about me not having a proper coat yesterday."

He shrugged his shoulders and scratched at the back of his head before placing his hands in his pockets. "Nipped out last night, the wife of a mate o' mine owns a clothes shop… got 'er t' stay open a bit later fer me t' go 'n 'ave a look." He watched as she brushed herself down, admiring the coat.

"It really is lovely, thank you so much, you shouldn't have." She smiled at him and reached to undo the buttons when the heat in the flat became a bit too much, only to find herself back at square one with her blisters.

Gene chuckled at her. "Didn't yer realise a few moments ago that yer couldn't do that? Come 'ere."

He removed his hands from his pockets and tugged her towards him by the lapels at the top of the coat. He gently unfastened the buttons and pushed the coat from her shoulders, placing it over the back of the couch before turning back to her and taking her injured hand in his. He lifted it up to his lips and placed soft kisses over the ends of her blistered fingers. He closed his eyes, avoiding looking in hers and breathed in, letting her scent take over him.

After a few moments he opened his eyes, looking down at her small hand in both of his rather than looking at her. He didn't know what to do, each night she was in his dreams… taking over his thoughts. He continued to look at their hands while he spoke, "Alex…"

He looked up at her, but before he could speak, Alex pulled her hand from his and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Happy Christmas Gene." She spoke softly, before taking his lips with her own. It was lazy at first, mouths exploring as they slowly moulded together. He brought his hands up to her waist, gripping slightly and pulling her even closer. He didn't expect it to be like this, in his dreams he had always been the one to initiate the kiss… more than likely after an argument when he was unable to stop himself. But this was different somehow, this was… better. He couldn't stop the groan from leaving his mouth when he felt her tongue brush his lips, asking for entry which he quickly allowed. He gently pushed her backwards, further and further until she felt the rough surface of the wall hit her back, mouths never leaving each other.

It was gradually becoming more passionate, each fighting for dominance as so many years of tension came out in this one kiss. She ran her hands up through his hair, pulling at it slightly and making him groan into her mouth. He pushed her into the wall, trapping her with his body and making her aware of his unmistakable arousal. She pushed him away gently.

"I think we should take this through to the bedroom, don't you, Mr Hunt?" He nodded once, before resting his forehead on hers.

"I'd shag yer anywhere Bolly… but I suppose the bed would be comfiest."

She laughed, taking his hand and leading him to her room and closing the door from the rest of the world.

Maybe this Christmas malarkey wasn't so bad after all.

**Thanks very much for reading! And happy new year!**


End file.
